Claydon chases half marathon win

THE king of Mackay's half marathon, Shawn Claydon, will be doing what he loves best this Sunday morning.

Claydon will be among about 200 runners expected to contest the 21.1 km half marathon, which starts at Mackay Surf Club at 6.30am.

It takes in two crossings of the Pioneer River via the Forgan and Ron Camm bridges, the city boardwalk and also the picturesque Gooseponds.

Claydon's seen it all before, as he won last year in a time of 1 hour 17 minutes and has been the victor all four years it's been run.

He's likely to have plenty of challengers, as entrants are expected to include interstate runners and the highly competitive Steve Jackson from Hamilton Island and Mackay's Alan Mullen, who has run marathons.

In the women's field defending champion Janette Sarrugia will be up against a strong field, including keen runner Janelle Tilse, who was second in the race last year.

Mackay Road Runners and the Leukaemia Foundation are combining to raise funds for the cancer charity, and to lift the profile of running for health and fitness.

Both Claydon, 41, and Tilse, 46, are passionate advocates of running, which has been a big part of their lives.

“I just enjoy the sport. It's something I enjoy doing,” Claydon said.

He started running during school, and apart from a short break has kept at it.

He recommends running at last four times a week to build a “reasonable amount of fitness”, but his regime explains why he is so successful.

“I do two to three sessions a week of hard, fast stuff varying from 500m to 2km sprints,” he said.

“On Sundays I do a two hour run.

“On other days I do one to one-and-a-half hours.”

The benefits are obvious to Claydon.

“You feel better for it. You feel more alive.”

Tilse has been running for more than 20 years, and it's a family affair.

“(Husband) Paul got me into it,” she said.

“He was running and doing okay, so I got involved. It's a big part of our life.”

The event includes plenty for the not so serious runners, including the 5km fun run/walk and the Corporate Charity Challenge 5km fun run/walk, both starting at 8.30am from the Surf Club and taking in the Mackay Marina.

The relay starts at 9am and consists of a three member team to complete 1.5km each.